← I can't win without sponsorshipThe screen transitioned to a loading state.
White text appeared on a black background.
**[S-Rank Dungeon - Awaiting Entry]**
**[Time Until Entry: 00:05:47]**
Junho took a deep breath. His fingers were still trembling.
He opened the chat window.
Current viewers: **3**.
As always.
He turned on his microphone.
"Um... hello. I'm Junho Lee."
The chat moved.
**[Anonymous_1]**: "Oh it's Junho lol"
**[Anonymous_2]**: "What've you been up to?"
**[Anonymous_3]**: "What're you doing today?"
Junho sighed and stared at the monitor. These 3 people. It was always these same 3.
But he had to tell them now.
"Today... something unusual happened."
**[Anonymous_1]**: "?"
**[Anonymous_2]**: "What?"
**[Anonymous_3]**: "Finally some drama lol"
Junho laughed. Strangely enough.
"No. It's just... a system error occurred."
He spoke slowly.
"I'm an F-rank player, but I got matched with an S-rank dungeon."
Silence.
3 seconds.
**[Anonymous_1]**: "What?"
**[Anonymous_2]**: "lololol"
**[Anonymous_3]**: "What is this lololololol"
The chat started moving rapidly.
**[Anonymous_2]**: "For real?"
**[Anonymous_1]**: "You're joking, right?"
**[Anonymous_3]**: "Lol this is hilarious"
Junho smiled as he read the chat.
"Not joking."
He shared his screen. The S-rank dungeon matching screen appeared to the viewers.
**[Anonymous_1]**: "?????"
**[Anonymous_2]**: "It really is S-rank lololol"
**[Anonymous_3]**: "Isn't this... dying? lol"
"Well, yeah," Junho said. "But I'm going to try entering anyway."
**[Anonymous_1]**: "Are you insane lol"
**[Anonymous_2]**: "But why?"
Junho hesitated. How much should he say?
"The administrators... recommended that I enter."
**[Anonymous_3]**: "The administrators? lololol"
**[Anonymous_1]**: "Something seems off about this?"
**[Anonymous_2]**: "Are you trying to become famous?"
Junho chuckled.
"I'm going to enter an S-rank dungeon to become famous? I must want to die."
**[Anonymous_3]**: "lololololol Junho's funny"
**[Anonymous_1]**: "But are you really going?"
**[Anonymous_2]**: "5 minutes left till entry lol"
Junho looked at the timer on the screen.
**[Time Until Entry: 00:05:12]**
"Yeah, I'm going."
He said.
**[Anonymous_3]**: "You're really... something crazy, aren't you?"
**[Anonymous_1]**: "But what happens if you die?"
"I respawn. At the dungeon's starting point."
**[Anonymous_2]**: "Oh so that means you can take donations lol"
**[Anonymous_3]**: "What is this lolol Should we send donations?"
Junho burst out laughing.
"Donations? To kill me?"
**[Anonymous_1]**: "lololololol"
**[Anonymous_2]**: "Lol Junho's really funny"
**[Anonymous_3]**: "But what's the actual goal? Clearing the dungeon?"
Junho thought for a moment.
"Yeah, for now. I want to see how long I can last."
**[Anonymous_1]**: "An F-rank lasting in an S-rank dungeon? lol"
**[Anonymous_2]**: "This could break records, I think?"
**[Anonymous_3]**: "Is the record dying 1 second after entry? lololol"
The chat moved rapidly. While the 3 people kept chatting, the countdown continued on the screen.
**[Time Until Entry: 00:03:28]**
Junho adjusted his headset.
"Just in case," he said. "If something strange happens when I enter, can you tell me? I might miss something."
**[Anonymous_1]**: "Ooh, sounds serious?"
**[Anonymous_2]**: "Is this live tactical advice? lol"
**[Anonymous_3]**: "Sure! We'll keep watch! Junho fighting! lol"
**[Anonymous_1]**: "But aren't you actually scared?"
Junho sighed.
"I'm scared. Really scared."
**[Anonymous_2]**: "lololol"
**[Anonymous_3]**: "But you're still going?"
"Yeah, I have to. What else?"
**[Time Until Entry: 00:01:47]**
Junho sank into his chair.
The brainwave interface headset was pressed against his temples. It was ready to detect neural signals.
**[Anonymous_1]**: "What if you actually die?"
"Then I'll see you guys again here."
**[Anonymous_2]**: "lololol Junho's amazing"
**[Anonymous_3]**: "Should we upload this as a video later?"
Junho chuckled.
"What video? A video of me dying?"
**[Anonymous_1]**: "That actually sounds fun? lol"
**[Anonymous_2]**: "Really lololol"
**[Anonymous_3]**: "'F-rank Dies in S-rank Dungeon in 1 Second' lololol"
"I don't like that title?"
**[Time Until Entry: 00:00:43]**
Junho's hands trembled.
"Almost here."
**[Anonymous_1]**: "Are you really doing this?"
"Yeah."
**[Anonymous_2]**: "This is crazy lol"
**[Anonymous_3]**: "Junho fighting!!!"
**[Time Until Entry: 00:00:20]**
Junho closed his eyes.
He heard Luna's voice.
**[Luna]**: "Junho, entry preparations are complete. Beginning brainwave synchronization."
"Okay."
The screen turned white.
**[Anonymous_1]**: "Oh!"
**[Anonymous_2]**: "He's entering!"
**[Anonymous_3]**: "Wow!!!!"
His vision began to distort.
Reality became blurry.
Junho felt himself falling somewhere.
Gravity disappeared, and the world was being reconstructed.
The last thing he heard was the voice from the chat window.
**[Anonymous_3]**: "What is this lololol"
And then everything turned black.
The darkness lifted.
Junho's eyes opened. Or rather, it wasn't that his eyes opened—it felt like the world was being redrawn. The sensory rendering of the brainwave interface felt more real than reality itself.
The first thing he heard was sound.
In the darkness, the sound of water dripping. Tap, tap, tap. A rhythm that was regular yet unstable. Like someone's heartbeat.
Next came the smell. A mixture of mold and rusted metal. Junho was clearly playing the game with just his mind, yet this smell burrowed into his nostrils.
"What... is this?"
Junho's voice came out. His in-game avatar opened its mouth. Hearing his own voice, Junho felt a chill. It was lower than usual, and trembling.
His vision fully recovered.
Stone walls. Water dripping from the ceiling. Humid air caressed the avatar's skin. Even knowing it was a game, Junho's heart rate climbed. Luna's brainwave synchronization technology had synchronized fear as well.
**[Luna]**: "Dungeon entry complete. Current location: S-rank Dungeon Floor 1, Entrance Hall."
An information window appeared in the upper left corner of the screen.
**[Junho's Status]**
- HP: 100/100
- Mana: 50/50
- Abnormal Status: None
**[Dungeon Information]**
- Difficulty: S-rank
- Recommended Level: 350+
- Current Entrant Level: 127
The red-marked numbers assaulted his vision. The gap between the recommended level and his own was starkly apparent at a glance.
"Uh... what is this?"
Junho muttered. It had been five years since he'd played a game, but he'd never encountered a matchup like this. Usually, he only entered dungeons suited to his level. And those dungeons were always easy. For an unknown streamer, the standard was to attract viewers with easy content.
"Luna, is this normal?"
**[Luna]**: "There is a system error. Currently analyzing the situation. Junho, I recommend returning to a safe location."
Return?
Junho laughed. A streamer who hadn't earned even a million won a month for the past three years wasn't about to pass up the moment he entered an S-rank dungeon. Whether this was a bug or an error, when would an opportunity like this come again?
**[Anonymous_1]**: "Huh? Luna says there's an error?"
**[Anonymous_2]**: "ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ Junho's done for"
**[Anonymous_3]**: "No get out!!! It's really dangerous!!!"
The chat exploded. Junho decided not to read the messages. He needed to focus now.
"I'm going to keep going."
Junho said. His avatar moved. The game controls felt natural. The brainwave synchronization technology converted thought directly into action. There were no intermediaries like controllers or keyboards. He simply thought, and his body moved.
He walked along the stone corridor.
The sound of dripping water grew louder. Tap, tap, tap. Like someone tapping a drum with their fingers. Junho matched his footsteps to that rhythm.
Then he stopped.
Light came from ahead. Faint, but definite red light. Like someone's eyes glowing in the darkness.
Junho's heart rate climbed again.
**[Luna]**: "Junho, enemy signal detected ahead. Distance: approximately 15 meters."
"What is that?"
**[Luna]**: "Analyzing. Based on biological characteristics... the predicted difficulty is high."
"How high?"
**[Luna]**: "It's unusual for an initial encounter monster in an S-rank dungeon."
The light drew closer.
And then came a sound.
Screech—— screech screech screech.
It wasn't the cry of an animal. Sharp and irregular, like metal striking metal.
Black, bristling hair rose from the darkness.
What revealed itself first was a head. It was so deformed it was impossible to tell if it was a head or a body. Countless spike-like protrusions covered it, and between them, red eyes flickered.
One, two, three...
Junho gave up counting. Dozens of eyes were attached to a single body.
And when it fully revealed itself, Junho screamed in-game for the first time.
"Wh... what?!"
The creature was a spider. But it was far too massive to be called a spider. Its body alone was the size of a car, and it had far more than eight legs. Dozens of legs tapped against the stone floor, moving between them with a sliding motion.
Its skin wasn't black but brown. A biologically impossible color. It looked like rotting flesh.
The most horrifying thing was its mouth.
There wasn't just one.
One on the front face. And one on its abdomen. And another... on its side.
Three mouths opened simultaneously.
**[Luna]**: "Carnivorous Multi-Oral Arachnid. Presumed to be the S-rank Dungeon's initial Gatekeeper. HP approximately 5,000, Attack Power approximately 380. Junho, immediate retreat is recommended."
"5,000?"
Junho's HP was 100.
Taking 50 damage once meant losing half his health. Two hits and it was over.
The spider's eyes focused on Junho.
All the red eyes glowed at once.
And the spider moved.
Its legs tore at the stone floor as it charged. The speed was unrealistic. It moved three-dimensionally, as if scaling the ceiling and walls simultaneously.
The distance became 10 meters in an instant.
At that moment, the spider's front mouth opened.
Black liquid sprayed out. Like spraying acid. Not a web—it was poison. Liquid that burned through the air as it fell.
Junho instinctively rolled his body.
The toxic liquid passed beside him. Where it touched the stone wall, it melted away with a sizzle.
"Shit!"
Junho shouted.
The spider didn't stop. Another liquid sprayed from its abdominal mouth. This time there was no time to dodge.
Junho instinctively raised his hand.
**[Luna]**: "Automatic defense skill activation—"
White light burst from Junho's hand. Mana Shield. A basic defense skill. It absorbs 50% of damage.
The toxic liquid hit the shield.
**[Junho]**: HP -25 / Current HP: 75/100
He lost 25 from a single attack.
And the spider was still charging.
The chat exploded.
**[Anonymous_1]**: "Run away!!!"
**[Anonymous_2]**: "What is this ㅋㅋㅋㅋ"
**[Anonymous_3]**: "He's really going to die...!!"
The spider was now 5 meters away.
Its leg drove down toward Junho's head.
Junho rolled to dodge. The leg pierced through the stone where he'd been. A resonant sound echoed. The end of that leg was sharpened like a hook.
Junho stepped back.
And then, a different signal fell in the chat.
**[Anonymous_2]**: "Left!!!"
Junho didn't think. Instinctively, he rolled left.
Another leg of the spider grazed his right side. Warm liquid splashed his arm. Toxic liquid.
**[Junho]**: HP -10 / Current HP: 65/100
In that moment, something felt off.
The "Left!!!" cry in the chat had been perfectly accurate. As if they knew the spider's movements in advance.
Luna's voice came.
**[Luna]**: "Junho... something is strange."
"What?"
**[Luna]**: "The chat signal is synchronizing with the game system. This is... not normal."
The spider moved again.
And another voice fell in the chat.
**[Anonymous_3]**: "Right dodge!!!"
Junho moved instinctively again.
The toxic liquid sprayed from the spider's mouth passed through the air once more.
**[Luna]**: "This is... a signal that transcends game logic. Junho, the chat instructions are predicting the monster's pattern."
"What?"
**[Luna]**: "It's statistically impossible. This is..."
Luna stopped speaking.
And in that interval, the spider launched its final attack. Its abdominal mouth opened. The largest spray of toxic liquid yet. Like firing a cannon.
**[Anonymous_1]**: "Jump straight up!!!"
Junho jumped.
The toxic liquid grazed his feet. He took burn damage. But he didn't die.
The spider tried to move once more... and stopped.
All of its eyes fixed on Junho.
The chat exploded.
**[Anonymous_2]**: "What is this what is this!!!"
**[Anonymous_3]**: "Our words were right?"
And the lowest voice came. Not Luna's voice, but something else's voice.
**[Luna]**: "Junho, the system is malfunctioning. This is not a game. This is..."
The voice cut off.
At that moment, the spider's mouth opened again.
But this time, not toward Junho.
Toward the top of the screen.
As if recognizing something.
And what reached Junho's ears was Luna's trembling voice.
**[Luna]**: "An observer... is intervening."